For Some Syrian Rebels, It’s a Battle of the Brands

The Farouk Brigade logo, here shown on a crumpled tee-shirt, was recently revamped into a 3D version for online videos

It’s all about the branding–even in the chaos of Syria’s deadly, two-year war.

On the sidelines of the battle between rebels and government forces, there’s a running competition–sometimes an armed fight–between rebel groups vying for funds and weapons.

Their brand image, many rebels say, can sometimes make or break a deal with rich, private donors in the Gulf or the ultraconservative Sunni Muslim clerics pouring money into the Syrian rebellion.

It’s not uncommon to see bearded, robed sheiks mingling with Syrian rebels in some of the fancier hotels of Antakya, the southern Turkish city that has served as something of a rear-base for Syrian rebels and activists.

These benefactors sometimes ask to see YouTube proof of the rebels’ military prowess. And the fancier the video, rebels say, the better.

For other brigades, it’s also a matter of hearts and minds. Some hope their brand image–everything from their logo to responsiveness on Twitter–can help them win the favor of dissident Syrians who have grown critical of an armed rebellion they see as having strayed from the goals of a peaceful uprising.

Islamist brigades, perhaps because they are better-funded, tend to have the most sophisticated logos and video productions. The Syrian Islamic Front, an alliance of more than ten Islamist fighting units formed late last year, has quickly built up its online presence. One if its member groups, which eventually branched off to form a front of its own, Ahrar al-Sham, was one of the first Syrian Islamist battalions to dabble with creative logos and videos.

The extremist Jabhat al-Nusra, meanwhile, can draw on the infamous but long-established Al Qaeda brand.

But for the majority of brigades, it’s an upstart effort led by twenty-something activists in bare apartment blocs that serve as media centers, located inside northern Syria and along the border in Turkey.

The Farouk Brigade, which says it’s the largest of Syria’s rebel groups, has military gear, tee-shirts, and flags adorned with its logo. It bought printing machines in Turkey and took them into Syria, which print individual ID tags and numbers to identify fighters. It recently commissioned a well-known Tunisian Islamic-chant writer to record audio exclusively for the brigade’s videos.

And it’s starting a TV channel that will stream online.

“After Baba Amr, we felt we needed to gain the goodwill of the people and refresh our image,” said Fahed Awad, a Farouk spokesman based in Istanbul.

The battle at Baba Amr, Homs in February 2012 was a turning point for rebels, who were forced to withdraw from the besieged neighborhood after a three-week fight with the army. The Farouk Brigade was born as a unit of Homs fighters that led that battle. They have since expanded across Syria, with ten branches covering different provinces.

Twelve activists in an office in Reyhanli, Turkey near the border run Farouk’s Facebook page, web site, and Twitter account. They’re working on the TV channel, which Mr. Awad says they’ve envisioned as a tool to resocialize fighters off the battlefield.

“The regime will fall one day,” he says. “We have 20,000 fighters–they all won’t stay fighters. They will put down their weapons, and need to integrate into the world. TV, radio, these things will help.”

The media office’s latest brand offering? A three-dimensional version of the Farouk logo, which will be used in videos and other online material.